My wife and I are staying a few days at her brother's home in Indiana, and this morning at breakfast my sister-in-law told me about her now deceased father's WWII service. She brought out a family scrapbook she had put together and it contained the service record and other documents about her father, along with a few WWII era photographs he'd saved. When I read through the documents, I immediately noted a connection between her father and me.
He had been a lithographer in an Army engineer topographic unit, and the unit's group photo he was in showed an engineer flag for Charlie Company. Unfortunately there was no record of the unit designation of the company's higher headquarters. But, seeing that engineer flag present brought a smile to my face. I told my brother-in-law, "Now I see one reason why you were so lucky to have married her, she comes from an "Army engineer" background!"
I took some close up photos of several of the documents she had in her scrapbook, so when I get back home I might be able to do some personal research within the "Army engineer network" to try to find out more on her father's wartime service.
This simple but very meaningful event was all a nice surprise for me, and a wonderful way to begin the day.
